Bourbon Street adventures...

With a little help from my aunt and uncle, Mike and I had a downtown New Orleans hotel room last night. Just FYI...The Sheraton on (world famous, according to our gps) Canal Street is awesome. Perfect location and one of the nicer hotels in the city.

So we pulled into our hotel about 2 pm yesterday, rested for about an hour and then didn't waste any time exploring downtown New Orleans.

And let me tell you, Canal Street, Decatur Street and Bourbon Street are full of characters. I wish I could describe some of these people. Words don't do them justice. One guy told Mike that he could guess where he got his shoes (looking for money), hounded him too. Problem was, we were not going to give this man money and Mike wasn't sure where he in fact got them.

We also saw some people that can only be described as "its." Could have been male, could have been female, It was actually pointless to guess. Scary...

And then there was our night on Bourbon Street. One phrase basically sums up Bourbon Street pretty well....no open container law.
Which I must say is pretty awesome.

There is two kinds of places on Bourbon Street, bars and strip clubs. Oh and there is a Ramada Hotel too. You have seen this hotel on tv before because it's the one all the girls stand on the balconies of when they are umm collecting beads.

So we received tips from a few golf professional friends (who shall remain nameless to protect the "innocent") on where to go. We had a beer at the Old Absinthe House and then proceeded to a bar called Razoo. We got to Razoo about 11pm and text messaging and phone records confirm we were still there at 330am. A look in my wallet this morning combined with how I felt all added up to having an absolute blast last night. Remember the line in the movie Old School, just after the guys have their first frat party, Will Ferrell's character says, "I had a great time!" and Vince Vaughn's character responds, "Yeah Frank, we know you had a great time, everyone knows you had a great time."

Well, we had a great time in New Orleans. Mike and I are back on the road again already though. We have driven a little under 300 miles already today en route to Dallas, Texas. As I write this, we are 80 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana on Interstate 49.

We did stop in Baton Rouge earlier for lunch. Got to see the other Death Valley (LSU's football stadium). We left Baton Rouge roughly 3 hours ago and have only seen two places that qualify as towns since. Northwest Louisiana is a pretty desolate place. Hard red clay versus the swampiness of New Orleans.

So Dallas tonight. We are actually having dinner at Colonial Country Club with a member, who is our host for golf tomorrow and is putting us up tonight. We are scheduled to play Shady Oaks Golf Club tomorrow at 8:00, then we have a 1:03 tee time at Colonial. Should be an awesome day.

That's all for now. By the way, it's 78 degrees down here. The sweater vest watch continues another day...

Thanks for reading!

Mississippi

After leaving Tuscaloosa this morning, we drove 90 minutes to West Point, Mississippi to play the Old Waverly Golf Club. Home to the 1999 Women's US Open, 2nd best course in the state. It was a very enjoyable layout. A little wet and a little cold but otherwise perfectly sunny and no reason not to post a good score.

I had 41, 36 for 77 today (2 doubles killed me on the front). All in all, our first four rounds of the trip were a success from a score standpoint, keeping it under 80 for the most part.

Following golf, we decided to run over to Starkeville, Mississippi; where Mississippi State University is. Two SEC schools in 2 days...I feel like I am cheating on the ACC!

We ate a late lunch at the Little Dooey BBQ Restaurant. It was awesome! If you're ever in Starkeville, it is a must go.

And after a 250 mile drive through the Mississippi nothingness, we arrived at my aunt and uncles house around 8pm.

On a side note: Mississippi is like a different country. I walked into a gas station in the middle of nowhere wearing grey slacks and a light blue Peter Millar sweater...and if looks could kill, I would be dead. I thought South Carolina was southern...Mississippi blows them out of the water. These people hang out at the gas station because literally, there is nowhere else to hang out.

Tomorrow, we will do a quick tour of the University of South Alabama, where my uncle works. Then it is off to New Orleans for the night.

Thats it for tonight. The weather is supposed to warm up tomorrow! The only question now is...when will the sweater vest make an appearance?

Thanks for reading!

Reed

Thank you weather gods...

The forecast was terrible, the radar looked bad. The clouds looked heavy and ominous. It rained all the way from Atlanta to Birmingham. We successfully passed through a Leeds County police checkpoint (the officer asked for license and insurance???).

Anyway, we made it to Shoal Creek Golf Club around noon. The professional, Eric Williamson set us up with two caddies, showed us the locker room and we were off after a super quick range session.

Oh and the weather broke. The clouds remained but despite storms all around us, it only ever drizzled. I actually only pulled out the umbrella one time.

And the golf course was incredible. The 1977 Jack Nicklaus design was a great layout. We played a mix of the 4 star tees and the 5 star tees (which was basically about 7000 yards, par 72). Mike edged me out again today 1 up. He had a real nice 76 and I had a 77. We each had our share of mistakes. I bogied the first 5 holes and Mike had four 3 putts in a row on the front nine. One highlight was that we each birdied the 497 yard par 5 11th hole. Then followed it up with two pars on the 491 yard par 4 12th. We also each birdied the 521 yard par 5 17th.

Shoal Creek is the 72nd ranked course in the country and is best known for hosting the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. My boss at Baltusrol, Doug Steffen, played in the 84 PGA here. His signature is on the player plaque just outside the locker room in the main clubhouse!

Following golf, we took the advice of our caddies, Keith and Fletcher, and went to the Full Moon BBQ Restaurant.
The food was excellent and the BBQ sauce was so good that the staff was boxing it up for Internet ordering.

So after stuffing our faces, Mike and I decided that Tuscaloosa would be a good place to chill for the night. After riding through campus at the University of Alabama, we found a Hampton Inn to crash in tonight. Even though it pains us to say anything good about an SEC school, the campus here is beautiful. Classic southern architecture. Everything is big and bold. They just do it right...and there is so much school pride.

Chances are we will hit up the Houndstooth bar at some point tonight, however, it just started pouring and Mikey is fast asleep.

We play Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi tomorrow at 11am. Old Waverly is the 2nd best golf course in the state according to Golf Digest and is best known for hosting the 1999 Women's US Open. We will race down to my aunt and uncles house in Mobile, Alabama tomorrow night after golf.

Here is a few pictures from today. Thanks again for reading! Weather looks good for the rest of the week!!

Sage Valley

After a few wrong turns through very rural South Carolina, Mike and I arrived in Aiken, SC and Sage Valley Golf Club at around 1:30pm. Officially, we were guests of the owner of the club, Mr. Tom Wyatt.

Wyatt, according to my caddie, Lewis, made his money through Walmart somehow. Didn't take no for answer from Mr. Walton and eventually made millions. Well...Mr. Wyatt has built himself one heck of a golf course. The Fazio design plays 6700 yards from the very manageable "member" tees. The back tees were 7300 yards and neither of us were up to that challenge. Mike beat me today despite a late charge, 2 up. I had 80 and Mike had a real nice 78.

The service and maintenance at Sage is unmatched. Everything is overseeded and looks absolutely beautiful for January 16th. It must look like Augusta in the Spring when all the Azaelas(sp?) bloom!

Speaking of Augusta, Mike and I had dinner in Augusta, Ga. And as I write this, we are on Interstate 20 heading towards Atlanta, where we will stay with Mike's cousin tonight.

Thanks again to the Peter Millar Clothing Company for outfitting us on our trip. I swear Mike and I didn't plan the purple sweater thing today. Pictures of Sage and our sweet PM threads below.

Shoal Creek Golf Club tomorrow in Birmingham, AL. Wish for good weather for us!

More tomorrow night. Thanks for reading.

Reed and Mike

There is something in these hills...

My little sister told me tonight that I am such a Clemson nut. And she is right. Living in New Jersey, I can't get here all that much. Since I graduated in December 2007, I have been here more than a doZen times though. And I have more fun each time I come. At a young looking 26, I can still pull off the "stay on someone's couch for a weekend" thing.

This stop was no different. Mike and I had a blast at some frat party last night (details excluded). Our friend from school, John raynor came up from
Atlanta to join us and special thanks to Chris Cerven, Landon Ray, Drew Walters and Brendan King for letting us "stay on someone's couch for a weekend."

So this morning, we played the Cliffs at Keowee Falls. It is a Jack Nicklaus design and a tough one at that. Cerven and I won the match vs. Mike and John. I shot a decent 79. The weather was perfect, super sunny but cool, around 50 degrees.

As soon as we finished golf...we raced back to Clemson to watch the basketball game against Duke. I can't stand Duke and was really hoping for an upset. It wasn't to be though as duke narrowly edged out an overmatched Clemson team. We had lower levels seats and it was a full house. Littlejohn is a terrific place to watch a game and tonight was no different. Would have been great to see a win but it was an exciting game nonetheless.

Said goodbye to my little sister just now (and all her friends). It's a little bit sad because I don't have another Clemson trip planned as of right now.

I know this trip is just getting underway but any other stop on this trip will have to be truly amazing in order to top my time in Clemson this weekend.

We are off to Sage Valley tomorrow and then we will stay in Atlanta tomorrow night. More from us tomorrow night! Thanks for reading!!

Reed and Mike

Btw...Zaxby's was awesome for dinner tonight and we are definitely headed to the Pot Belly Deli for breakfast in the morning. Yum. Sorry Mom..I will try to eat better...somewhere else!?!

On the road...

First stop....god's country.

Clemson, South Carolina.

Mike and I started out at 8:30 this morning from my parents house in Villanova, PA.

As I am typing this, we have gone 537 miles and we are just north of Charlotte. And looking at one spectacular pink and orange sunset as they tend to be on nice days down here. It's only 47 degrees but it was about 30 this morning when we left...so we will take that.

We stopped in Richmond and had lunch with Mike and Lyndi Morrone at a cool little diner called Kitchen 64 (the restaurant is basically in the shadow of the Richmond Flying Squirrels minor league baseball stadium. Very good food.) Mike and I went to Clemson with mike M. And he is now a pro at the Foundry Golf Club in Richmond.

As we drive south, we have been trying to make plans for going out in Clemson tonight. We have also been working on a place to play golf on monday. After failing with Peachtree, East Lake and Atlanta Athletic club, we are hoping to hear back from Sage Valley.

That's about it for now...check out a picture of the Durango we are driving and of me with the two mikes.

More tomorrow. Go Tebow.

Reed and Mike

The trip before the trip...

I just got back from Miami, Florida last night and now that I am back, I can finally turn my attention to the "big trip."

Our officially date of departure is Saturday January 14th. We will most likely leaving from my house in villanova. We have just confirmed a car to take as of today (a Tahoe) and we are very excited about getting started. The Peter Millar clothing company is still on board for providing gear for the trip and we are expecting those sweet threads this week.

We have locked up a few more courses to play including shoal creek and old waverly.

The blog is going to start to become more and more frequent and will be including a few more features (pictures). I hope everybody will enjoy it and as always, please forward this to anybody you think would be interested.

Reed